Epicurean Delight

Last night Whit and I got a chance to go rub elbows with the elite of Spokane and the amazing fund raiser for the Inland Northwest Blood Center, Epicurean Delight. Now, those of you who know me know that I am an eater. I love food. This event featured the best restaurants in Spokane (Clinkerdaggers, Outback Steakhouse, Europa etc.) along with the best caterers as well slugging it out to see who the best of the best was when it comes to food in the Inland Northwest. We had the daunting task of trying all that they had to offer and the even more imposing task of telling ourselves to stop eating the most delicious food we have had in a long time. We got the tickets from Father Spitzer when he sponsored a table for Gonzaga and asked Whitney to use two of the tickets. I love that she works there. Not only for the fancy dinners and basketball tickets, but that she has genuinely found something she loves to do. We also stayed the night in the Davenport Tower as well, taking advantage of the amazing teacher's discount they have. It is only $120 a night for the tower and $150 for the regular hotel. We are not talking a two twin size bed room, we are talking a Deluxe King Room. If any of you who are reading this are teachers, you need to seriously consider this as an option for a relxing getaway right in your own backyard.

God's Mercy

So if you haven't been coming to Timberview over the past few months, shame on you (just kidding), we have been studying the Beattitudes. The funny thing to me is whoever came up with the name for this amazing set of guidelines to live by. Of all the things to call them, they came up with the most simple, yet completely encompassing description. Be these attitudes. I think Christ would like that. A non-imposing explanation for such an Earth shaking set of clues on how we should live, just like Jesus.

Anyway, we studied Matthew 5:7 which says, "God blesses those who are merciful, for they will be shown mercy". And the immediate question comes to my mind, does everybody deserve mercy? What about those people who committ such horrid crimes that our only human reaction is anger and contempt for them. When we want to run out and start judging and sentencing them to death, would God want us to show them mercy? Does God expect us to just excuse them for what they have done to us or to others we may or may not know? Of all of the Beattitudes, this is by far the most confusing for me. At what point does our ability to not show mercy to certain individuals become satsifactory to God? I know that we are ultimately not the final judge for those poor, misguided individuals, but we are only human right?

Well, I was reading Romans 9 today and as God always does, he answered my question a little. Romans 9:14-16 which says, "Are we saying then that God was unfair? Of course not! For God said to Moses, 'I will show mercy to anyone I choose, and I will show compassion to anyone I choose.' So it is God who decides to show mercy. We can neither choose it nor work for it." So, we obvisouly can't show the same level of mercy to those who would receive it, but God tells us that it isn't possible to control the amount of mercy we show others or even the amount of mercy we receive from Him. I think he already gave us a ton of mercy when he died for our sins.

It also goes on to say in Romans 9:18, "So you see, God chooses to show mercy to some, and he chooses to harden the hearts of others so they refuse to listen." So, again, how do we place ourselves in the path of God's mercy? It says in Romans as well that those who trust in Him, not follow his law, will be called Children of God. So just simply following God's laws does not make Him happy, we need to trust in him fully. Just when I think I have answered my original question about God's mercy and how we show mercy to others, I just open a whole other volume of questions yet to be answered. You know the best part though, I have an entire life to build up all of the questions I want to ask him when I get to Heaven someday. Thank God truly that we have hope and he shows us mercy for the things we do though. What would we do without Him?

Romans 8 (God's Love)

This morning I read Romans ch. 8, and was very inspired. This chapter talks about three different subjects: Living our life in the Spirit, The Future Glory we will receive if we follow God's commands and How nothing can separate us from God's love.

On the subject of Living our life in the spirit, the Bible talks about how when we allow Jesus in our life and to control our minds, we are no longer a slave to sin. I think back to how many times I have sinned, it would take to long to actually count so I won't for sake of time, and I know that Jesus was definitely not on the forefront of my mind. A question I have and always will struggle with, why do we sin knowingly? It seems completely counterproductive to our relationship with God, and yet all of us do it. It's like knowing the stove is extremely hot, and then laying your hand on the hottest burner, makes sense to me. I think the most refreshing thing is that we know that if we buy whole-heartedly into God's plan, that he will make us heirs to His glory on Earth. Also, we are basically taking grenades in the trenches for God everyday because we know that he will ultimately protect us and grant us everlasting glory for our faith in his plan.

This was a great reminder to me that even though we are persecuted for the things we believe in, God will take care of us like he always does.

Vickless in Atlanta

Well, needless to say it has been tough to be a Falcons fan the past 5 years or so. Having to deal with the unnecessary hype about Michael Vick, when they could have had LaDanian Tomlinson, has been hard when you are not a supporter of your team's franchise player on or off the field. With Vick's well documented off the field, extra-curricular activities, A.K.A. killing dogs for money, and the Falcon's impossible task lately of finding a coach that will stay for more than one season. Actually, strike that last comment, staying for the whole season would have been nice. Then we come to this year. The Falcon's used their 1st draft pick to take a QB for the first time since Vick when they chose Matt Ryan from Boston College. Ok I thought. Then they got rid of arguably their three best players (Crumpler TE, Dunn RB, and then starting QB candidate Matt Schaub). Wow, I thought, they really have no goals on winning more than 3 games this year. But, after hearing their new coach talk and seeing Matt Ryan's commitment to making this a turn around year, I was finally excited. Gone are the days of watching Vick play 1 on 11 football. Gone are the days of hearing bad things about the team off the field. Here are the days when the Falcons finally have a respectable organization again on and off the field. I can truly say I am a fan again.

Bath Day!!

Well, we had finally had enough of our dirty dogs, so last night I put ona brave face and gave the girls baths. Now, Chloe loves it because A) She gets to hang out with Dad without Allie around and B) She is crazy about water. She hops right in and savors every sweet moment of the experience. Allie on the other hand, doesn't really get the whole bath thing yet, so she tries to escape or shakes her dirty water all over Me, Whit and the walls. They did great, and they smell WAAAAAY better then before let me tell you.

Shiloh Halloween Carnival

Well, Whit, my Mom and I went to the carnival last year and it was a lot of fun because we got to run a booth and hang out with a large group of our community. This year was a little lame. I got to do the dunk tank which was fun, but there were about 1/4 of the people there this year and not many teacher volunteers. The bright side was that Whit and I got to dress up 50's Grease style, but the downside was, we were the only teachers dressed up. It feels to me like the world wants Halloween still, but no one wants to completely embrace the Halloween spirit. You don't have to dress demonic or creepy to have fun on Halloween. I think it is just a great excuse for us to get together as friends and celebrate dressing up silly and being kids for one night a year. Dig deep and find your Halloween spirit and pull it out this year.

Volleyball

Well, after a 1 year hiatus from the hardwood, well in Shiloh's case the carpet, I am back coaching 5th and 6th grade Volleyball for the Fightin' Eagle Boys. When I was at Colbert I had the chance to coach the girls team and it was a piece of cake because all of the girls on my Purple 1 team were either 6 feet tall or could spike a ball harder than I can!! This is going to be a lot of fun, and it is always exciting when kids get to try a sport they have never had access to before. Lots of prayers for patience with this one though!!